Why I Choose to Run for the House of Representatives.

At every point that I look back on my life, I realize that there has been a reason why I have been exposed to my unique experiences and history. I believe that this is because I was meant to serve my people. Life has been full of experience, adventure, lessons and learning. It is of little importance if these things have only made a difference to me and not to everyone else.

This is the core reason why I am running for office.

Where I am coming from

I am Anaguta, from Jos North Local Government Area. I was born in Jos back when things were pleasantly different, in all facets of life. I attended EKAN Primary School which was both ethnically and socially diverse. As such, there was no distinction between any groups. The different ethnic nationalities from all over Nigeria were all over, each with an amiable distinction. This unique heterogeneous complexity converged into a mutual coexistence with lots of love and respect. Respect for each other’s culture and tradition and religion. No wonder, in later years, we were referred to as a miniature Nigeria.

The above picture eventually shaped my viewpoint for a model society in later years. The perspective was strengthened as I commenced my formal education.

I attended the famous Government College Pankshin, then to the former School of Preliminary (SPS) Keffi, in present Nassarawa State, and finally to the Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.

Till date, I find it easy to form strong friendships and partnerships with people of all creeds, ethnicities and social classes.

My Professional Background     

One of my greatest blessings has been to have the depth and span of work experience that I have had especially with years in security and governance. I worked with the Department of Security Services and resigned as a trained Intelligence Officer, and later as a manager in the security department of the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting (NSPM) Plc.

In addition to these years, I have also worked extensively in government. Between April and October 2008, I served as the Transition Implementation Committee Secretary of Jos North Local Government Council.

In 2011, I was appointed the Special Adviser on Intergovernmental Relations to the governor of Plateau State, an office I held till October of 2014.

These years of work have given me networks, experiences and exposure to governance.

During the course of my work, I developed strategic contacts with some global personalities, some of whom include the former British Prime Minister, Mr. John Major and a member of the British Parliament, Baron John Watson of Richmond.

I was also privileged to meet Mrs. Naomi B. King, wife of A. D. King who is the elder brother to the famous Martin Lurther King jr, the leader of the American Civil Rights Movement back in the day. She is currently the Head of the A.D.King Foundation in Atlanta, Georgia

There is no gain saying that these relationships will generate the appropriate perspective for me to exploit for the kind of representation I hope to provide for Jos North/ Bassa Federal Constituency.  From work and networks, I have received an uncommon training to poise me for the challenges ahead.

My Unique Positioning

I was born and I spent my early years in what is now the epicenter of conflicts that have gone on for too long. It is my desire to come on board, bring my experience to bear and be a part of the solution-finding process. From a personal and professional standpoint, I know I can do that.

As a son of the soil, I have intimate knowledge of our customs, norms, compositions and sensitivities. That knowledge mixed with years of being a security professional enables me to look at issues through several layers. I am poised to look beyond the surface ‘symptoms’ and be part of finding the root causes of these conflicts.

At the root of our problems, there are issues of competition for resources, mutual suspicion, religious bigotry, politics and the sanctity of our culture and traditional boundaries.

I am presently understudying our peculiarities as people of this very unique constituency, in order to eventually craft a blue-print of synergies with other members to initiate appropriate legislations that will effectively address these peculiarities. I believe that a harmonization of our social divergences will bring about the benefits we all need to coexist.

My Promise

I strongly believe in the concept of servant leadership. True leadership must be about collaborations and alliances. I can only bring my unique gifting to the fore and be a part of the process of generating workable templates that will address the numerous questions people often ask about this constituency.

This collaboration can only be sustained by listening to my people. This I promise to do.

I will take advantage of my goodwill to attract community based projects to our constituency, and will take matters of placements and employment for our youth with the utmost priority. This will certainly address some of the social vices occasioned by unemployment in our constituency.

I firmly believe that our experiences and challenges in this constituency, these past years have redirected our attention to the quality of representation we need at this critical time in our national development.

We must resolve to look ahead with great optimism and be enthusiastic for a brighter future. We must acknowledge our past errors and work consciously and deliberately to addressed them.  This is what I hope to represent, with your blessings and your votes.

Thank you for reading

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David Jang Zoyong makes a bold case for Jos North/Bassa House of Reps Seat